Rowland Dawkins (died 1691) was a Welsh military colonel and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at various times between 1654 and 1656. He was a zealous supporter of the Commonwealth. Dawkins was the son of George Dawkins of Clivrough and his wife Elizabeth Glyn, daughter of William Glyn of Glynonvawr, Carmarthenshire. He became a colonel in the Commonwealth army and was governor of Carmarthen and Tenby in 1650. In 1651 he suppressed a rising at Llanbadarn. He was appointed to the High Court of Justice on 25 June 1651 and became a Military Commissioner for South Wales on 14 March 1654.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> In 1654, Dawkins was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...

. In 1654 and subsequent years he petitioned for the abatement of the assessment for Cardiganshire. He became an alderman of Swansea in 1655. On 27 November 1655 he was ordered with Jenkin Lloyd, Arthur Owen,

Sampson Lort Sampson Lort was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659. Lort was the second son of Henry Lort of Stackpole, Pembrokeshire and his wife Judith White, daughter of Henry White of Henllam, Pembrokeshire. In 1659, he was elected ...

, James Philipps and others to examine the petition of the well-affected of Haverfordwest regarding the election of a malignant to office. He was re-elected MP for Carmarthenshire in 1656 for the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

. He commanded the Militia Troops in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire until 13 July 1659. In 1659 he was elected MP for

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

and Cardigan for the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

but was unseated for Carmarthen and sat for Cardigan. He was in command of troops at Tenby in 1679. Dawkins died in 1691 and was buried in the chancel of Penmark church. Dawkins married Mary Bowen, daughter of George Bowen of Lovegrove, Cardiganshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Rowland Year of birth missing 1691 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales 17th-century Welsh politicians 17th-century soldiers Welsh army officers Roundheads English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 17th-century Welsh military personnel